This watchdog blog, by journalist Norman Oder, offers analysis, commentary, and reportage about the $4.9B project to build the Barclays Center arena and 15-16 towers at a crucial site in Brooklyn. Dubbed Atlantic Yards by developer Forest City Ratner in 2003, it was rebranded Pacific Park Brooklyn in 2014 after the Chinese government-owned Greenland Group bought a 70% stake going forward. As of 2018, after the arena and four towers were built, Greenland will own 95% of future construction.

In ESPN's Ultimate Standings, Nets nudge back but still lead Knicks by large margin

Among the 30 teams in the National Basketball Association, the Brooklyn Nets are ranked 20th in the Ultimate Standings, the ESPN compilation that ranks such elements as Ownership, Fan relations,
Affordability, and Stadium experience.

That's not great, and it represents a step back from 17 in 2013 (but up from 21 in 2012). But the New York Knicks are last, at 30, sliding from 24 in 2013 and 27 in 2012. (The San Antonio Spurs are tops.)

In fact, among the 122 teams in the four major leagues, the Nets rank 76, while the Knicks are 121, with both teams falling in the rankings but the Knicks falling further.

That means the Knicks--though they reliably fill Madison Square Garden--leave opportunities to poach their fan base.

For the record, the New York Islanders rank, as antiquated Nassau Coliseum is judged absolutely last in the category of Stadium experience.

The Barclays Center, ranking 37 in Stadium experience for the Nets, will surely offer a bump up when the Islanders move to Brooklyn in 2015, but the configuration is somewhat awkward for hockey in a basketball-centric arena, so I suspect the Islanders' score on that measure will be lower.

Last year's ranking: 71
Title track: 86
Ownership: 70
Coaching: 55
Players: 90
Fan relations: 66
Affordability: 101
Stadium experience: 37
Bang for the buck: 66
The Nets are the basketball kings of New York! Granted, Mikhail Prokhorov and a team of four other random Russian oligarchs could have beaten the Knicks last year, but it was quite the statement when the Nets' billionaire owner hung a 22-story, 21,375-square-foot Nets billboard near Madison Square Garden, featuring his own cheeky grin. Knicks owner James Dolan felt so bullied that he ran to the commish to broker some kindergarten justice.
The Nets shelled out a record $90-plus million in luxury tax last season, managed to procure Busta Rhymes and Mike D for pregame intros, and even signed Andrei Kirilenko to a deal that had NBA execs crying conspiracy. Unfortunately that kind of dough -- or really, any type of dough -- didn't trickle down to the fans. The Nets have some of the most expensive cheap seats in the league, and the sixth-priciest tickets overall (only the Knicks, Heat, Bulls, Celtics and L.A. teams are more expensive). And while Brooklyn advanced to the conference semifinals, the Toronto series left the Nets exposed. A headline on the back of the Toronto Sun tabloid read: Raptors vs. Dinosaurs (pictured: Paul Pierce and KG), and beneath it the line, "Garnett & Pierce are so old the Raptor had to ask his dad about them." And Deron Williams' face was popping up on Have You Seen This Person fliers outside the Barclays Center. The reward: $63,128,400. Although the biggest dis was reserved for Brooklyn's fans. Sparked by Toronto's crowd, the Nets' official Twitter account proclaimed: "#Nets fans take note -- this is what a playoff crowd sounds like ... set your DVD and take notes." (An apology soon followed).
The Nets may be Kings of New York, but it wouldn't hurt if they set their sights a little higher

Last year's ranking: 102
Title track: 112
Ownership: 118
Coaching: 108
Players: 122
Fan relations: 122
Affordability: 121
Stadium experience: 91
Bang for the buck: 115
The Knicks need a new outlook -- a dose of Eastern Conference philosophy from newly hired team president Phil Jackson; the Zen Master has been tasked with turning around the franchise's fortunes in his front-office debut. But can a man with more rings than fingers still point at the moon? Whoa. Deep. If glory is truly found in rising after a fall, last year's 37-win flop (after 54 wins in 2012-13) presents nothing but opportunity. And seeming to believe that only the hand that erases can write the true thing, Jackson fired much-maligned coach Mike Woodson and overhauled the roster.
Across the board, our rankings provide Jackson with a wealth of opportunity: The Knicks fell in each of the eight categories and by at least 20 spots in six of them. First on Jackson's to-do list should be teaching star forward Carmelo Anthony that the most important thing is to know what is the most important thing, after Melo took a lucrative deal to continue jacking 39 shots a game. But the one-man show needs help; the Knicks rank dead last in players, as Jackson waits for roughly $20 million in cap space that's due to open up next summer.
The Knicks must also remember that if they take care of fans, fans will take care of them. The team came in last in fan relations and second to last in affordability (a ticket 2.5 times the league average doesn't help) and rank in the bottom eight in bang for the buck and ownership. Yeah, that ownership. The meddlesome James Dolan has promised to stay out of Jackson's way when it comes to basketball decisions, because just as Jackson will rely on his time-proven method, Dolan must give it time to work. After all, only the wisest and most dull-witted are unchangeable.

While that's part of the lawsuit, more prominent are claims of racial discrimination and retaliation, with black employees claiming repeated abuse by white supervisors, preferential treatment toward Hispanic colleagues, and retaliation in response to complaints.

Two individual supervisors, for example, are charged with referring to black employees as “black motherfucker,” “dumb black bitch,” “black monkey,” “piece of shit” and “nigger.”

Two have referred to an employee blind in one eye as “cyclops,” and “the one-eyed guy,” and an employee with a nose disorder as “the nose guy.”

There's been no official response yet though arena spokesman Barry Baum told the Daily News they, but take “allegations of this kind very seriously” and have "a zero tolerance policy for…

To supporters of Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards project, it's a long-awaited plan for long-overlooked land. "The Atlantic Yards area has been available for any developer in America for over 100 years,” declared Borough President Marty Markowitz at a 5/26/05 City Council hearing.

Charles Gargano, chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, mused on 11/15/05 to WNYC's Brian Lehrer, “Isn’t it interesting that these railyards have sat for decades and decades and decades, and no one has done a thing about them.” Forest City Ratner spokesman Joe DePlasco, in a 12/19/04 New York Times article ("In a War of Words, One Has the Power to Wound") described the railyards as "an empty scar dividing the community."

But why exactly has the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Vanderbilt Yard never been developed? Do public officials have some responsibility?

The bi-monthly Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Community Update meeting June 14, held at 55 Hanson Place, addressed multiple issues, including delays in the project, a new detente with project neighbors,concerns about traffic congestion, upcoming sewer work and demolitions, and an explanation of how high winds caused debris to fly off the under-construction 38 Sixth Avenue building. I'll have more coverage.
Security issues came up several times at the meeting.
Wayne Bailey, a resident who regularly takes photos and videos (that I often use) of construction/operations issues that impact residents, asked representatives of Tishman Construction if the security guard at the sites they're building works for them.
After Tishman Senior VP Eric Reid said yes, Bailey asked why a guard told him not to shoot video of the site, even though he was on a public street.

"I will address it with principals for that security firm," Reid said.
Forest City Ratner executive Ashley Cotton, the …

This graphic, posted in January 2018, is post-dated to stay at the top of the blog. It will be updated as announced configurations change and buildings launch. Note the unbuilt B1 and the proposed shift in bulk to the unbuilt Site 5.

The August 2014 tentative configurations proposed by developer Greenland Forest City Partners will change. The project is already well behind that tentative timetable.

How many people are expected?

Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park has a projected 6,430 apartments housing 2.1 persons per unit (as per Chapter 4 of the 2006 Final Environmental Impact Statement), which would mean 13,503 new residents, with 1,890 among them in low-income affordable rentals, and 2,835 in moderate- and middle-income affordable rentals.

That leaves 8,778 people in market-rate rentals and condos, though let's call it 8,358 after subtracting 420 who may live in 200 promised below-market condos. So that's 5,145 in below-market units, though many of them won't be so cheap.

There are obituary notices in the Bowling Green Daily News and the Wichita Eagle, which state:
He was born in Wichita, KS where he attended public Schools and Wichita State University. He lived for many years in Brooklyn, NY, and was employed as a legal assistant. David's hobby was cartography and had an avid interest in Mass Transit Systems of the world. David was predeceased by his father, Kenneth E. Sheets. He is survived by his mother, Wilma Smith, step-brother, Billy Ray Smith and his wife, Jane all of Bowling Green; step-sister, Ellen Smith Alexander and her husband, Jerry of Bella Vista, AR; several cousins and step-nieces and step-nephews also survive. Memorial Services will be on Monday, January 22, 2018 at 1:00 pm with visitation from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm Monday at Johnson-Vaughn-Phe…

Notably, a lease valued at $40 million "upfront to lease up to 43 acres over 49 years... seems like a good deal on rent for the state-controlled property." Also, the Long Island Rail Road will expand service to Belmont.

That indicates public support for an arena widely described as "privately financed," but how much? We don't know yet, but some more details--or at least questions--have emerged.

An Aqueduct comparable?

Well, we don't know what the other bid was, and there aren't exactly parcels that large offering direct comparables.

But consider: Genting New York LLC in September 2010 was granted a franchise to operate a video lottery terminal under a 30 year lease on 67 acres at Aqueduct Park (as noted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo).

At right is a photo of a poster spotted in Hasidic Williamsburg right. Clearly there's an event scheduled at the Barclays Center aimed at the Haredi Jewish community (strict Orthodox Jews who reject secular culture), but the lack of English text makes it cryptic.

The website Matzav.com explains, Protest Against Israeli Draft of Bnei Yeshiva Rescheduled for Barclays Center:
A large asifa to protest the drafting of bnei yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel into the Israeli army that had been set to take place this month will instead be held on Sunday, 17 Sivan/June 11, at the Barclays Center in Downtown Brooklyn, NY.
So attendees at a big gathering will protest an apparent change of policy that will make it much more difficult for traditional Orthodox Jewish students--both Hasidic (who follow a rebbe) and non-Hasidic (who don't)--to get deferments from the draft. Comments on the Yeshiva World website explain some of the debate.